IT SPEAKS volumes for Jay Tabb's impact at Coventry City that Iain Dowie has introduced a system that plays to his strengths.

Assistant manager Tim Flowers revealed recently that the busy midfielder was sitting on the sidelines and they were desperate to get him back in the team.

And the perfect way seems to have been to deploy him in his preferred central mid-field role where he has proved highly effective as part of a 4-3-3 formation.

"I am really enjoying playing in the middle there in between some good players with Michael Doyle and Isaac Osbourne for a couple of games and then Stephen Hughes, and it is a good, strong unit," said the little 23-year-old who is not dissimilar in size and style to FA Cup hero Micky Gynn.

"I am sure we will revert back to 4-4-2 at some stage and I will just have to get on with playing that way too.

"I just love getting stuck in and sometimes when you are out wide there is more of an onus on you to be a tricky winger and get crosses in and I would probably be the first to admit they are not my strengths.

"I always try to do my best when I am out there on the wing, but in the middle I can break off players I really enjoy driving forward alongside two good players.

"I think it is a formation that works very well for the squad. We played it up at Old Trafford and did well and then tried it in the league but it didn't work.

"But we have gone back to it in recent weeks and it has worked, and I think we look a strong side. You never know we could be back to 4-4-2 next game but at the moment it is a formation that is working and it was just a shame that we didn't get to use it properly against West Brom because of the sending off."

And Tabb feels for fellow pint-sized player Michael Mifsud, adding: "He is a small guy like myself and sometimes you have to compensate by going in tough to let people know that you are not going to get pushed around.

"He has done that and unfortunately it might have looked worse than it was. I haven't seen the replay but Michael is not like that.

"He has won countless games for us this season with his goals and he is top goalscorer in the league and cup.

"He made a mistake but you can guarantee that once his three games are up that he will be raring to go again."

As well as Tabb's outstanding contribution on the pitch, he is the perfect role model off it.

To help promote the Make Your Mark Campaign, which is part of national Enterprise Week which aims to promote enterprise and initiative among young people in Coventry, Warwick-shire and across the UK, the fans' favourite has written a blog on Myspace.com about how the right attitude can help you achieve your ambitions.

He said: "I've always loved sports and played them at school - football, rugby and cricket mainly - but I knew when I was young that I wanted to become a pro and tried to eat and live well to give myself the best possible chance of succeeding.

"I started playing football when I was eight, in my local little league. I'd say it's the best time to play football really because you can just enjoy playing with all your mates with no pressure.

"It got a bit more serious when West Ham wrote me a letter inviting me to a trial and I ended up in the academy there for a couple of years. Then I went to Crystal Palace until I was 16. I was let go after some bad injuries - but I got the chance to join Brentford and went on to have a really great time.

"I knew at quite an early age that if I wanted to get somewhere I needed to make sacrifices.

"We had nutritionists who would come into the academies and tell us what to eat and although you tend to take it to extremes when you're younger, it sets you up for life and I know what to eat now to maintain the best balance.

"Saying that, there were times when it was really hard. You miss out on Big Macs! When I was 15/16, all my friends were

going out and meeting up on Friday nights and I couldn't. I missed out on a lot of social things like school trips too because I had to be tucked up in bed on a Friday so I could rest properly before a match.

"But it's a sacrifice I wanted to make to achieve my dreams. I've played with a lot of talented footballers - players who probably had more talent than me - but they haven't had the right attitude and they've ended up going nowhere. The sad thing is some people do everything right and still don't make it, so it's hard.

"I'm not sucking up, but I've always listened to my coaches and worked hard in training because you'll always do better if you get on with people. I was lucky to have a really good coach at Palace and Brentford called Geoff Taylor.

"He used to pick me up from school or from home for training if my folks couldn't and he taught me well - I owe him for everything. He's a great coach and still going strong."